Throughout the offseason, the Panthers spoke of putting last January's playoff loss behind them -- of using it as motivating fuel in their quest to succeed this year where they failed last winter. But in the regular-season opener Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. they endured a frustrating flashback. Just like January, that early 7-0 edge was washed away in a flood of turnovers that put them in to a spiral from which they couldn't recover. The final margin was 38-10, and while it didn't have the crushing finality of the defeat in January, it nevertheless left the Panthers with plenty of pieces to pick up and little time to gather them with the Atlanta Falcons looming in seven days.
The pieces start with the quarterback position, where all three passers played -- something that is rarely a good sign. Starter Jake Delhomme, under duress from the Eagles' pass rush for much of the day, threw four interceptions and fumbled once, which Victor Abiamiri recovered for the touchdown that put the Eagles in front to stay. After his final interception, Delhomme was pulled for Josh McCown, who encountered the same fierce pass rush and ultimately succumbed to it, suffering a sprained left knee and foot after being sacked by Darren Howard. Goodson's fumble was the only Panthers giveaway to not come from the quarterback position. But it did take place in the backfield, underscoring how Carolina's runners and passers were under attack most of the afternoon. Philadelphia ended the day with five sacks, 10 quarterback hits and held Williams and Jonathan Stewart to 72 yards on 25 carries -- an average of just 2.88 yards per rush, their lowest combined average since a 27-3 loss at Tampa Bay last Oct. 12, and some 2.83 yards shy of their average per carry in last season's last 10 regular-season games.
DELHOMME WAS UNDER THE MOST SCRUTINY from the sellout crowd of 73,599, with the five-interception, six-turnover night in January still fresh in the minds of the Panthers and their fans alike. Sunday's performance yielded a passer rating of 14.7 saw as many completions (seven) as sacks and interceptions combined, leading to pointed questions about his confidence after consecutive humbling performances.
